Fixing the Unfixable
by dkmmarie1125
Summary: Akari has lost all hope of having a happy family, ever since her brother died. What will happen when she moves to Suna, and meets a certain red head? GaaraXOC First story, so feedback is appreciated. :3
1. Prologue: Nightmares and Unwanted Tears

Ello! So, this is my first story that I've uploaded. So….yeah!

Description - Akari has lost all hope of being a happy family, ever since her brother died. What will happen when she moves to Suna, and meets a certain red head? Gaara XOC

Rating – rated T, just to be safe.

Disclaimer - Me: Gaara is mine!!!! All mine!!!!! Yay! *Cuddles with Gaara*

Gaara: Uh, first off, get off of me! Don't make me use my awesome ninja sand powers on you. :(

Me: Eh heheheheh…….*slowly and reluctantly lets go of Gaara*

Gaara: *mumbles* Crazy fan girls…..And secondly, YOU DO NOT OWN ME!!!!! So stop saying that you do!!!! Sheesh! *More mumbling* Can't a guy have some privacy every once in a while?

Me: Okay, okay, fine. I don't own Gaara, or Naruto in any way. I just own the plot and my OC's.

And PLEASE!!! R&R I would truly appreciate it. Gives a person some confidence. Heehee.

Enjoy!

**Fixing the Unfixable**

**Epilogue: Nightmares and Unwanted Tears**

"I don't want t be here, mom. Look, I get that it's hard to be the same place that…dad lived when he ……….died, but coming back _here_? Why to this stinkin' pile of sand? I don't even remember it when we use to live here, and yet, I know that I hated it."

Akari and her mom had been traveling from the Village Hidden in the Rocks to the Village Hidden in the Sand. Their journey had taken about a week, and they were a days traveling distance still. " I mean, c'mon, the Hidden _Sand_ Village? Why not somewhere less _dry _and _hot_?" She continued to complain. " You know, it's not too late to turn around and go to……uh…..the Hidden…Leaf Village! Yeah! I heard that is one nice place to live. And we could completely start over there. We wouldn't even have to deal with Granny that way!! What'd you say?"She put on the most convincing face she could think of at the moment, trying to get her mom to change her mind, for about the hundredth time during the trip.

Her mom looked at her as if she were crazy, which wasn't too far off of what she was, and just shook her head impatiently. "Hun, I'm sorry. But for the last time," she stopped then, and turned around to face her daughter. "We are not going to live anywhere else. This is our new home, and you are just gonna have to learn to like it. Kay? Plus, Granny needs our help. She's having trouble just being alone with all of these crazy people."

Akari huffed out of defiance. She fell down flat on her face, trying to slow her mom down, but her mom just kept walking. When she had been laying there for two minutes, and her mom hadn't come to pick her up yet, Akari growled a little, got back up, and yelled at her mom to wait for her.

She really didn't want to go back there, not because it was so sandy and hot, or because she would have to take care of her Grandma as soon as she got there, but because of the stories her brother had told her about it when she was younger.

Her brother and her father both died in battle on a mission, both as jounin ninjas. Akari loved her brother dearly and looked up to him as her role model. She would always try to do the things that he did, trying to learn his ninja techniques, but she never quite got it. Yet he always approved of her, helping her master the different things necessary to become a ninja. His confidence in her fed her own confidence, and soon she became quite a chuunin ninja. He told her lots of stories about his trips to the Village Hidden in the Sand, and all the amazing things he did there. She grew fond of the place and wanted and wanted to go there with him one day.

She wasn't quite as close to her dad. He was always away, or too busy doing something involving ninja stuff, and so she was left with more time with her brother and her mom. He was a good man, it's just that he was just a busy one too.

When both of them died, Akari's mother refused to stay where they were, and took her daughter, herself, and all their belongings, and left for the Hidden Sand Village, where she used to live when she was younger. Etsuko didn't even have a say in the matter. Her mother just gave her a two day notice before they would leave for the Sand Village. So, she said goodbye to all her friends and left for her new home.

~*~*~*~*~*~

That night, after they had made camp, Akari had a dream of her brother and herself.

"_Akari, you don't have to do this for me. I can pick out my outfit just fine, ya know." He looked down at her, and gave her a small smile._

"_That may be so, but today is your big day! There's no way I'm going to let you mess up your outfit for when you propose to that sweetheart of yours. You have to look perfect."She smiled a very big smile, to show that she was fully prepared and confident in the task that she had given herself, to try and repay her brother for all that he had done for her over the years._

_She soon found a wonderful outfit for him that totally fit his personality and was perfect for the evening.( I don't know, make one up. I'm not so good with this stuff. ^^) Then she brushed his hair, trying to make a little neater than it usually was. Once she was done, she dragged him to a wall mirror, showing him the finished product. He was happy, happy that she had helped him out. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head as thanks. _

"_You are the best little sister a guy could ever ask for, Akari." He gave her another quick hug._

"_Lies. Haru, If anybody gets the number one sibling of the year, it's gonna be you. Now go get that girl married to you. Well, at least make sure that that is what will happen, when the time comes for it. Heh." She pushed him out of his room, and chased him out the door. _

_As soon as she stepped outside, Haru (Incase you didn't figure it out, that's the brothers name. Don't know why, but it is. ) waved at her, and walked off. _

_All of a sudden, the scenery changed. Everything went from a peaceful sunset tone, to blood red sky and pitch-black everything else. Etsuko was crying all of a sudden as she saw her brother start fighting all of a sudden, and then, he was stabbed right in the chest. He fell to the ground, and she screamed his name. She fell to her knees and started crying ferociously into her hands. _

_Then it got even worse. The ground disappeared, and the sky, and the trees, and everything else, except herself. She stood up, and looked around. All of a sudden, her brother came falling slowly in front of her, and landed(in a way) in front of her feet. She screamed yet again, and another body, fell slowly down beside her brother….it was her brother, again! Then it pretty much started snowing her brother. She freaked out and fell over herself._

_Then the one that fell in front of her first said her name. She looked up. He was smiling. "Tell mom I love her. Akari."_

"_Akari …"_

_Her brother(s) started disappearing._

"_Akari.."_

_Everything was gone. _

"_AKARI!!"_

She bolted up, sitting on her traveling pad. "Haru!!!!!!" She yelled out. She started panting as she calmed down a little. She looked around, trying and remember where she was. Then she saw her mom sitting beside her.

"Hey hun. Sorry I woke you, but it's time to get up, and frankly, you looked like you were going to die any minute from your own fantasy. You okay?" Her mom looked at her with concern in her eyes.

Akari remembered the last thing her brother told her in her nightmare-ish dream. "Hey mom, um, well, Haru…he wants you to know that he loves you………" She looked at the ground after saying this, then looked back up at her mom, making sure she understood what she just said. Her mom was completely still. Her eyes started to slowly get watery. Suddenly she hugged Akari.

"Thanks, hun. I needed to hear that." She pulled away from her daughter, looking at her face. "You know, you are the spitting image of your brother. You have the same big, beautiful blue-green eyes that you got from your father, the same beautiful thick, black hair that you got from me, and that amazingly pale skin of yours, just a hint lighter than his. Who knows where you two got that from." She sighed a sigh of content. "As long as you're here, than I have my whole family near me."

"Thanks mom, but you know, he was much easier on the eyes than I am. I'm so…..different. One look at me, and most people I meet think I'm gonna be really awkward around. And what you were describing as my hair a second ago, that was his hair. Mine just hangs here like some kind of curtain that's suppose to be in a haunted house of something." She grabbed a few locks of hair and held them out to the side of her head, then let go, showing how they limply fell back into place right beside her head. She gave her mom a look of disapproval towards her hair, but just rolled her eyes since her mom didn't know what she was talking about. "Oh, whatever. Let's just pack up and get moving again."

"Oh! About that. You actually don't need to worry about that. See, a group of people from the village actually came out to meet us. Just our luck, right?" Her mom smiled brightly, feeling very fortunate to have some help with getting their things to the village.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so." Akari was still a bit tired, so she wasn't really that responsive. She looked around to see where the men who were helping them were at.

She finally saw them over by a tree just talking. There was a man, and three teenagers. Akari could have cared less about the adults, but found the teens quite interesting. There was a girl with blonde hair that was in four pigtails and she had a really big fan sitting on her back, a boy who had his face painted with purple stripes, so to speak, and he had a thing that was wrapped up sitting on his back, and then there was a boy who had red hair and had a gourd on his back. She couldn't see his face because his back was turned to her. She found this group of teens a bit intimidating to say the least. So, she decided to stay with her mom for the time being.

Not too long after that, the people came over to help them carry their things. She was picking up her bag pack when all of a sudden she heard a voice from behind her.

"Hi." Akari jumped a little when she heard the greeting, and ended up dropping the bag. "Oh, oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Akari turned around to face the person who was speaking.

It was the blonde girl she had seen over by the tree."Oh, It's quite alright. I'm still a bit tired, so I'm not quite as sharp as usual." She gave the girl a weak smile.

"My names Temari, and these are my brothers Kankuro and Gaara." She looked at each person carefully as Temari pointed to herself, then Kankuro, then Gaara. They all had handsome faces, but she lingered just a little bit longer on Gaara's face than she did with the other two. His eyes were so hypnotic, she could have just stared into them all day and she wouldn't mind. He didn't seem to mind himself, because he was staring jus as intensely, if not more, back into hers. When she realized this, she looked away, her cheeks getting a little rosy. "Is there anything that we could help you carry? I really hope there is because otherwise we won't have anything to do on the trip back to Suna." She gave a bright smile.

'_So that's the actual name of the village. It's not just the Hidden Village in the Sand, but it's the village called Suna. Good to know'_ she thought to herself.

She looked around on the ground to see if there was anything that they could carry that belonged to her, but she couldn't find anything. "Umm…well, I don't really have anything other than my bag pack and my traveling pad, and I can carry that just fine, but my mom brought a thousand things. So, you could ask her if she needs help with anything."

"Alrighty then. Works for me. C'mon guys. Let's go help her mom. Oh! Wait," Temari turned towards Akari again, as if she had forgotten something. "I never caught your name. You wouldn't mind would you?" Akari mentally slapped herself in the face for being so rude.

"Oh, sorry. My name's Akari. It's nice to meet all of you." She gave the trio her best smile she could muster out at the moment. Kankuro seemed to have a mood change when she said that, going from bored-out-of-his-mind, to wannabe-ladies-man, because suddenly he walked up to her, grabbed her hand kissed it, and said, "The pleasure is mine, Akari."

He gave a really weird smile then, probably trying to be charming or something. It ended up looking like he was holding back a burp. Akari tried to hold back a laugh for as long as she could, but it was really, really hard to. She ended up letting a little snort out, but tried covering it up with a cough. Kankuro didn't seem to notice it, but Temari saw right through it, as did Gaara, who was just standing off to the side, rolling his eyes. Temari spoke up then. "Akari, just a little tip for future reference. Don't be afraid to smack Kankuro if he does something stupid, kinda like _right now." _She walked over to him and hit him on the head. "You loaf. Get a life, and take a lesson on how to get a girl, cuz frankly, you suck. Oi, how is it that I ended up being stuck with such an idiot for a brother." She started walking towards Akari's mom to go help.

Kankuro get go of Akari's hand and gripped his head, turning towards Temari and yelling, "Um, ow! Sheesh, you are moody today." He turned back to Akari, who had an amused look on her face, but tried to hide it as soon as Kankuro was facing her again. " We'll pick this up later." Then winked at her, and ran off after Temari.

Akari just watched him, and chuckled to herself. "Is there anything else that can be done here?" She gasped when she heard the voice. Not from the surprise of it happening all of a sudden, but from the familiarity of it. She whipped around as fast as she could, thinking he was back for her, and that she would see him one more time. She had such hope on her face, that you could have thought she had just been promised to get a million dollars.

When she had turned around all the way, she gasped again, but not because it was what she was happy, or surprised, but because she was horrified, and shocked. (AN/ She was horrified, not as in 'AHH! That's so gross, but as in, no!!!!!! Why? Why me? Does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't. Just ignore this if all I did was confuse you. O_O) The person in front of her was Gaara, not her brother like she had hoped it was, like she was almost positive it was. Gaara's voice was identical to her brothers, and Akari didn't know if she could live with that kind of reminder in her life right now.

She put her hand up to her mouth to stop herself from screaming. You could see her composure slowly falling away as she tried to find a way to answer his question before he got suspicious. A few seconds later, she mustered out, "Um…..I don't know. Sorry."She closed her eyes so Gaara wouldn't see her eyes, which were filled with sadness.

"Um, okay. I'll be over with my siblings if you need anything." He started walking off to where they were. But when he walked past her, he could feel her chakra being very unsettling. He had a feeling that he had triggered an unhappy emotion in her. He was about to try and comfort her, even though she was still just standing there without doing anything, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't comfort people that often.

He ended up putting his hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm sorry." As soon he said that, Akari gasped, and looked at him disbelievingly. She was trembling when his hand left her shoulder and he walked off. Her composure crumbled completely then, and she fell to her knees and started crying into her hands uncontrollably. Gaara just kept walking with his head hanging, and a frown on his face.

Akari couldn't understand why he reminded her of her brother so much. Yes his voice sounded just like her brothers, but he was completely different. There weren't anything alike. Her brother did look a lot like herself, just a lot better, but Gaara was practically the opposite. His hair was a dark red to start off with, and his eyes were so, well, they were much more amazing than any in her families. But he had these black rings around them. They kinda threw her off guard a little bit. And, he didn't have any eyebrows. She thought this was kinda weird, but it drew more attention to his eyes, so it wasn't that bad. And then there was that kanji on his forehead that said love. It was strange that he would have such a thing there, but it looked nice on him. She couldn't really imagine him without it.

So, why was it that he reminded her so much of her brother? She wanted to scream from frustration and irritation, but that would just cause problems. She fell over onto her side, crying for her brother, wanting him there with her.

No one noticed her, except for Gaara. But he knew that it was best to let her be alone, and if she wanted to be with someone, then she would just come get them herself. He still didn't know what he did to set her off like that. He was a bit worried about it.

Ten minutes later, Akari thought that maybe she should get up since it was probably time to go. She sat up and wiped away her tears. '_Oh no! Everybody is going to see the tears stains on my face! Ooohhhh, this is bad. Ugh, why do I have to be such a softy!?!? Grr.' _She gently smacked her face to try and bring some of its normal color back, hoping it would hide the tears stains down her cheeks.

She heard footsteps coming toward her, so she pulled herself together, so whoever it was wouldn't notice that she was crying. The footsteps stopped before they got to her. She turned around wondering who it was. Who else other than the one who caused the tears: Gaara. (Of course. Rolls eyes at myself.) She almost broke down yet again, just from looking at him, but she wouldn't let him have such an advantage over her, even if he didn't know about it. She took a deep breath, and stood up.

"Hey." Gaara said, feeling a bit cautious, trying not to set her off.

"Hey…" Akari responded, trying to relax so she didn't look like a total idiot.

"Um, well, we're about to leave, so I thought I should come get you."

""Oh, uh…thanks." She didn't really know what else to say, so they just walked over to the others in silence. Once they got over there, Temari and Kankuro met up with them.

"Hey Gaara. That was awfully nice of you." Temari said to Gaara. Apparently, that type of thing didn't happen all that often.

"Sure, I guess so." Was Gaara's response. Then Akari heard Kankuro whisper under his breath, "Dang it. I should have thought of that. Stupid…stupid!" She had to smile to that. Kankuro was quite the character. She thought that the two of them might et along really well, same with Temari. She was just a little bit nervous of how she was going to get along with Gaara. It would probably be really hard for her.

Her mom called her over suddenly. "Akari! Come here! I want you to meet someone!" Akari looked over at her mom, who was ushering her over to where she was with her hand.

"I'll be right there mom!" She looked at the siblings, trying to figure out what to say to them. "Um, I guess I'll talk to you guys later then." She gave a small wave, as did Temari and Kankuro. Gaara just watched her as she ran off towards her mom.

Once she got over where her mom was, she noticed there was a man in front of her. '_This must be who she was talking about.'_ She thought.

"Hey honey! This is Baki. He's a jounin ninja! Isn't that great?!Well, anyways, he has some information for you." Akari's mom gave a giant grin as she faced Baki once again so she could listen to him.

"Well," he began. "Akari, right?" She nodded. "I heard that you are already a chuunin. This brings great joy to me, seeing that the three over there are the only chuunin in the village currently. It would be nice to have someone else who is their age _and_ same ranking as them. They kind of, um, seclude themselves from others. So, you will be a nice addition to the team….if you'd like to be part of it, that is……."

Akari only heard the first part of it, because she was so focused on his face. It was rather intimidating to look at. '_I wonder why he covers one side of his face…..'_ She had spaced out then, thinking of different battle scars that could possibly be semi hidden under the cover.

Her mom got impatient, expecting an answer from her daughter about going their team. "So? What do you say? You gonna join or what?" She was looking at Akari very sternly, trying to scare her into an answer, possibly. Akari finally noticed her moms glare.

"What'd I do? You're looking at me as if I just took the last cookie or something." (Heh. Had to throw that in there. XD) She raised her eyebrow at her mom.

"What did you do?!? Oi!" Her mother threw her hands in the air. Baki was rather amused by her reaction to Akari. "Apparently not listening, as usual." She sighed deeply. "Baki here as offered to let you join his squad." She said this while pointing at the three teenagers that were standing over by the rest of the stuff. (AN: I wonder how they got all this different stuff with them so far…..O_O) They were just standing there, looking bored. Then Kankuro said or did something that ticked off Temari, who then proceeded to hit him on the head. You could hear her call him, "Baka!!!" Gaara slumped his shoulders, as if his brother had gone completely clueless.

Akari turned her attention back to Baki and her mother. " Y-you want _me_…..to join _y-your _squad!?" She asked Baki. He simply nodded. She made a strange noise that was a cross between a sigh and a squeak. ( Kinda like an "eep!" noise, but a little different. ) She didn't know what to do. Back home she was the only chuunin in her whole age level/ graduating class. So, this could definitely benefit her training and skills. But…..she didn't know if she could handle being around Gaara in the same group, let alone the possibility of bumping into him somewhere in the village.

She furrowed her brows, deep in thought, for about a minute. She finally spoke. "Could I have some time to decide? I'm sort of having a mental battle with myself at the moment, so I can't really give you an answer at the moment." She gave a weak smile, hoping she would get more time to think her options through properly.

"Of course. I want you to be certain of your decision. This is no light task. Please feel free to take as much time as you need. I would recommend getting to know the three of them better, to find out if you might work well with them." He smiled brightly at her. It was an odd thing to see, since you couldn't see half of it. Her thoughts once again traveled to what was under that mask…………

(AN: Well, there's chapter one!! I hope you enjoyed it! And PLEASE!!! I beg of you! R&R would be most welcome. I would be so very happy for some reviews.

If you do review, do you think that I should keep writing the story? Or is it not good enough?

I would truly appreciate any feedback from anyone, just no flames please.

So, thank you! And have a good rest of your day, night twilight zone, whatever it is for you. 

Yours truly,

~Dkmmarie1125~


	2. Chapter 1:Decisions and Confusion

Yayz, Chapter one! I'm excited! Here goes nothing!!!

Before I do, I'd like to acknowledge those who reviewed the story….

**aquamarine-acaia****: Thank you! I totally appreciate it! Simplicity is bliss (especially when it comes to comments) **

R&R is greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

Enjoy!!

**Fixing the Unfixable**

**Chapter one: Decisions and Confusion**

Akari turned her attention back to Baki and her mother. " Y-you want _me_…..to join _y-your _squad!?" She asked Baki. He simply nodded. She made a strange noise that was a cross between a sigh and a squeak. ( Kinda like an "eep!" noise, but a little different. ) She didn't know what to do. Back home she was the only chuunin in her whole age level/ graduating class. So, this could definitely benefit her training and skills. But…..she didn't know if she could handle being around Gaara in the same group, let alone the possibility of bumping into him somewhere in the village.

She furrowed her brows, deep in thought, for about a minute. She finally spoke. "Could I have some time to decide? I'm sort of having a mental battle with myself at the moment, so I can't really give you an answer at the moment." She gave a weak smile, hoping she would get more time to think her options through properly.

"Of course. I want you to be certain of your decision. This is no light task. Please feel free to take as much time as you need. I would recommend getting to know the three of them better, to find out if you might work well with them." He smiled brightly at her. It was an odd thing to see, since you couldn't see half of it. Her thoughts once again traveled to what was under that mask…………

~*~*~*~*~*~

Akari was walking a little ways behind everybody else, so she could be by herself to think about her options.

'_Well, the first option is to join their squad. It sounds great! Except for Gaara…..I just don't know if I could handle that voice of his too much. I've already practically broken down and started crying in front of him, who knows what will happen next time…_

_And then there's the other option, where I don't join their squad. That makes me feel more at ease, but my training level will probably stay the same. And I don't want to be at the level I'm at right now…I want to be at jounin level!' _she sighed, stressed that it was so hard to figure out what to do.

'_If only someone else could decide for me…Wait! no, I take that back. Please, no one decide for me. I _

_really want to decide for myself…..'_She put her face in her hands, slowly dragging them down her face.

"What am I talking about? Have I gone completely insane?" She whispered so softly, that even if someone had their ear by her mouth, they wouldn't have known what she said.

She looked over at the siblings, just wondering what they were like. Then she focused on Gaara, having a strange urge to hear his voice again. _'Well, maybe it was just the way he said it that one time. Maybe that's not how he sounds normally.'_ She sighed. _'I sure hope so………….maybe I should go talk to him and the others, like Baki suggested.'_

She hesitated a little before she walked towards the trio. Temari heard her when she was a few feet away from them. She turned around and faced Akari.

"Hey! I was wondering when you would come join us." She gave a sweet smile. Akari returned the gesture with a small one. She looked at the ground, before finding the right thing to reply with.

"Well, I had a few things on my mind that I needed to, um, sort out with myself. So, I was just trying to give my brain some breathing room, I suppose." She smiled lightly at her joke, while Temari lightly chuckled.

Kankuro was just staring at Akari throughout the girls small talk, until she noticed. Then he turned a little bit pink, while tried finding something interesting to look at that wasn't her, but ended up tripping over a rock and falling down. Temari burst out laughing, calling him a baka in between her breathes.

Akari smiled at how at ease she felt with the two siblings. She could see herself in their group, laughing alongside them.

She looked over at Gaara, who wasn't even paying attention to the scene behind him. He just kept walking as if nothing had happened. She furrowed her brows a bit. '_He's so distant from his siblings….I wonder why….'_

Then it hit her. _'If he's so distant from his siblings, maybe he'll be distant with me. That way, I won't hear his voice too often, and I'll be able to train to be a Jounin! Alright then! That's settled. I am joining the group. Thank you Gaara!'_ A big smile grew on her face, now knowing how she would spend most of her time in Suna.

_~*~*~*~*~*~_

Akari and Temari, mainly Temari, talked most of the way to Suna. Kankuro would but in every once in a while if he found a line that he could make a move off of. He got hit on the head a lot during the trip. Gaara was still being silent, except once when Akari asked him something.

"Hey Gaara?" He glanced in her direction. She took that as his reply. "I know this is a bit random, and maybe a little rude, but I'm just so curious." There was a quick pause before she continued. "You are always so quiet. I'm just wondering why……" She looked at the ground, with her hand on the back of her head, embarrassed and wondering why she even asked.

Gaara didn't answer. It was just silent. Akari quickly added, "It's okay if you don't want to answer. I understand. Sorry that I asked; I don't know why I did in the first place. Heh." More awkward silence. Akari sighed. '_Why did I even bother to ask him that? Now he probably just thinks I'm an idiot who doesn't know how to keep her nose out of other people's business. And to think that I just wanted to have as little contact with him as possible. So, of course I ask him the question exactly opposite of what I mean to do. Sheesh! What's wi-'_ She was cut off by the sound of Gaara's voice.

"I grew up with no one wanting to be near me, and being shunned from my community. I have had many people try to assassinate me, with no success, obviously. So, I don't really trust people with my emotions. That's why I keep to myself." He stopped walking, and looked at her very intensely. " That's why I'm so quiet. Because no one wants to be with me. No one cares about what I think, or want, or need. I rely totally and completely on myself. And I'm doing just fine as I am." His hands were balled up into fists, and his eyes looked a little bit crazed.

She shuddered. Akari was actually feeling a little bit intimidated by this guy. And the worst part was that her hope of him not sounding like her brother had totally been demolished. His voice sounded even more like her brother now than it did before.

Gaara was breathing heavily, and for a while, he just stood there in front of her, his arms by side, his chest heaving a lot more than you think it would, and his eyes still as crazed as before.

Akari had been shocked by the outburst before, not understanding what was happening. Then she registered his voice, and her face went from surprise, to confused, to depressed. Finally she just closed her eyes, and let out a long slow breath. "_Well, I guess I'm just gonna have to get used to it, then.' _ She frowned.

When she opened her, eyes, Gaara wasn't in front of her anymore. He was about fifteen feet in front of her walking away in a very big hurry, it seemed. Akari looked confused. '_When did he leave? I didn't hear him move at all…..'_

She looked around, trying to re-focus her attention on something else. She ended up looking at Temari and Kankuro, both of them staring at her with their mouths open, their eye blinking, well, a lot. Kankuro was the first to speak.

"H-how'd you d-do that……" He said as he slowly raised his finger pointing towards Gaara's slowly disappearing body. He then looked over towards Gaara, then back at Akari, then back at Gaara, so on and so forth.

Temari's reaction was similar. She nodded in agreement to Kankuro's question, and continued to look between Akari and Gaara with as much fierceness as Kankuro.

Akari just looked even more confused than before. She had no idea what they were talking about. '_How'd I do what?!?! Make him mad? What does he mean?!' _

She sighed. (She does that a lot.) She tried to collect herself so she wasn't worrying about Gaara anymore, or at least look like she wasn't.

"Kankuro, you have to be more specific than, 'How'd you do that?!' It would help to know what it is I did, for example." She tried to smirk at his and Temari's dumbfounded-ness, but it came out quite fake. They didn't seem to notice though.

Temari jumped in then, having collected herself by then. "What Kankuro meant was, how did you make Gaara so nervous? We can hardly ever do that, let alone someone that just met him! It's amazing!"

She gave a confused look to Temari once again, feeling very out of the loop. "What do you mean _nervous? _Since when is telling a stranger your life story, then getting really mad about it and storming off a form of nervousness?" She gave her a, 'You're kidding, right?' looks to Temari, who sent a, 'You're so naive!' look right back to her.

"Well," Temari started. "I guess ever since Gaara was born. Heh. I guess that's when it became a form of nervousness. Kankuro, who had been very, well, stupid looking during this time, decided he should join the conversation.

"Yep, pretty much. He even told me that he felt nervous once when he was acting like that." He nodded his head with his eyes closed as if it would Akari understand Gaara's strange ways. She just threw her hands up in the air, with a loud, "Ugh!" sound, giving up on the topic. She just kept walking then, running over to her mom and Baki.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, then Akari, then Gaara. Kankuro sighed, feeling slightly depressed, knowing that this time Gaara would win the price that Kankuro had been after.

Temari gave a small smile, understanding why Kankuro sighed. '_Don't mess this up Gaara. And don't ignore it either. You need this. It's what you've needed all this time. It's just like your forehead says.' _

~*~*~*~*~*~

(AN: Well, there you go! I hope it was okay. I'm sort of confused as to where this is going, but I have a rough idea. So, if some of the things seem kinda random, I'm sorry about that. I'm doing my best!!

And please, feel free to review. I would totally love you forever!!! Well, unless it's a flame. I don't think I would love you. But you're totally welcome to give me advice!! I would love you then, cuz you'd be helping me! And I love people who are helpful!

And one more thing. This is really random, but I'm curious. I want to know what's most popular: Milk, Dark, or White Chocolate………You should totally say what you like best. Unless you don't like chocolate, then you don't have to. O_O

Well, that's it!!! Thanks for reading chapter one!!! Have a good rest of your day/night/twilight zone!!!!

Yours truly,

~dkmmarie1125~


	3. Chapter 2: The Betrayel of A Loved One

:O OHEMGEEZNESS!!! Its chapter two!!! WOOHOO!!! Kay, well, that was exciting.

Well, any who, I just want to say thanks to –

**Sakura**: Thank you!! That gave me a little confidence boost! Big time help!! So, thank you!!

**Tsebe Uchiha**: Wow. Thank you so much. That will help me a bunch. It's good to get good advice. And that sure was good advice. I'll try to focus on detail more. Thanks again!!!

**Aquamarine-acaia**: Wow! You're actually following it?!?! YAY!! *does a happy dance* That makes me feel so good. ^^ Thanks, and I totally understand that detail is important and I have been lacking it. I hope this chapter is better in that area! Thank you so much!!

**Disclaimer**:……………………………….Well, it's obvious, isn't it? I just said disclaimer, so obviously I don't own anything worth mentioning. Unless my hands count, cuz ya know what? If it wasn't for them, then I wouldn't be able to write this disclaimer, now would I?

**(Please read) Extra Side Note Thing**: I forgot to mention some crucial information before, being the age of them all. Well, at least those who matter. Heh. So, that is something that I will do now…obviously, since I just mentioned that I forgot to tell it to you, so obviously, I would tell you what their ages are. Otherwise that would be totally pointless to mention. Right?.............Wow, okay. ANYWAYS………………….

Akari – 16

Gaara – 16

Kankuro – 17

Temari – 18

Mom(what should her name be?!?!) – 38

Baki – um…..40?

Haru – 19

So….yeah!!! Those are the only characters for now. And also, you may want to know that this is a bit of an alternate universe, sorta. Gaara isn't Kazekage, and all those crazy things that happened. The sand siblings do know the twelve leaf ninjas that we all know and love. They met them in the same place as in the real deal; the chuunin exams. But they didn't end up going because they are being evil or anything. They go because they want to be chuunin. And they all passed. Temari and Kankuro are good friends with them, and Gaara tolerates them, mostly just Naruto, but also the others. But Gaara did have a grudge at Naruto for some reason (make something up.) and ended up having that fight that he has with him in the forest. You know, that one where you see his Shukaku for the first time. And the other two are there too. And Sasuke is still there, but he's a total evil maniac…okay, okay, maybe not that, but he's still got his 'too cool for school' attitude.

So yeah. Just thought you should know these things. It seemed kinda weird without knowing their ages and what the situation is. Sorry that this authors note got so long because of this.

**Lastly**: Well, like I've been saying before, R&R is extremely welcome. I'd love to hear what you have to say!!

So, enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter Two: The Betrayal of A Loved One**

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, then Akari, then Gaara. Kankuro sighed, feeling slightly depressed, knowing that this time Gaara would win the price that Kankuro had been after.

Temari gave a small smile, understanding why Kankuro sighed. '_Don't mess this up Gaara. And don't ignore it either. You need this. It's what you've needed all this time. It's just like your forehead says.' _

~*~*~*~*~*~

(Third person, but Akari's POV)

Akari's mom and Baki were talking when she got close to them. The scary thing about it was that it looked like they were more than just talking.

First off, they were standing very close to each other, and when I say close, I mean as in maybe there was a centimeter's distance between them.

Secondly, her mom kept gently jumping into him, and staying in the position of the bump for much longer than a person usually would, as if she was flirting with him.

And lastly was how they looked at each other. Baki was nearly a foot taller than her mom (she needs a name….got any suggestions?), and would look down at her as if she was the sweetest thing in the world. His small smile, his happy eye(s…..can't really see one of them. Heh. ^_||), and the slight tilt of his head all showed this.

And when Akari saw her mom look up at him and give him the same smile that she only gave her husband, she stopped mid-stride, feeling totally betrayed. She gasped as soon as she saw her mom lean her head on Baki's shoulder.

'_No…………………' _She thought. She was trembling. '_No…..no, no, no, No, No, NO, NO, NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!'_ She felt so much rage at this point. And to make even worse, Baki put his arm around her shoulder.

She felt the tears rushing down her face, and she could hear her heavy gasps as she tried to gulp in some air. She felt as if a watermelon had been placed in her throat.

She couldn't believe what she had just seen; she refused to believe it. But she had to make sure. So, Akari closed her eyes, counting to three, and opened them slowly. They were still that same embrace. She put her arms around her stomach, feeling woozy all of a sudden.

She couldn't handle it. And she wouldn't allow it, not right after her father died. It wasn't fair to him. It wasn't fair to _her_.

She took a deep breath, trying to gather herself for what she was about to do. She closed her eyes for only a moment, and then opened them, determined and ready for whatever fate would bring her next.

The two adults had gotten a good distance away from her since she had needed a quick break to breathe. So, she had to hurry if she wanted to have the effect on them that she was planning.

She marched, literally marched, over to her mom and Baki, fury etched all over her face. Her teeth were bared, her hands in fists, and her body was still shaking, probably more now than before. You could see the many different veins protruding from her skin, much more than they naturally would. She very nearly growled what came out of her mouth next.

"What in the world do you think you are doing!?!?!?" She screamed at them as soon as she was in talking distance with them. For some reason they hadn't noticed her until she had said that, even though she hadn't even tried to be discrete about coming up behind them.

"What is your problem!? Dad died, like a _week _ago!! And already you're all over another man!! That's so typical of you!!" She was in front of them now, keeping them from moving any farther. Yet, she remained a good distance away from them, not wanting to be too close to the 'traitor'.

"How could you betray him like that?! It's just so wrong! All he ever did was love you, and take care of you. And here you are, being all lovey-dovey with my new sensei!!! Uuurrrrrrrgghh!!!" She turned away from them, grasping her head, walking in a circle.

"Wait," Baki stated slowly. "So you want me to be your sensei?" He smiled a little at this. Akari looked at spun around, looking at him with pure disbelief. Then her facial expression changes to a 'You're kidding, right?' look.

She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She spoke slowly, to keep herself calm. "You aren't seriously telling me, that that is the only thing that you found important in this entire confrontation, are you?" She opened her eyes and glared at him. "Because if it is, then one way or another, I will kick your-" She was cut off by him raising his hands and speaking apologetically.

"Now, now. No need to be to rash. I was just looking at something positive in this time of sorrow for you. Please forgive me for upsetting you."He gave a small bow, before returning his arm to her mother's shoulder. Her mother simply smiled as if this were a normal thing.

If this were an anime or manga, you would now see Akari suddenly turn chibi and become completely red, with fire coming out of her mouth and nose, steam from her ears, and she would be ripping her hair out. There would be something similar to hells fire in the background.

But since this isn't an anime or a manga, all I can say to describe how she reacted then, is that she did turn slightly more red than usual, she had the same expression she would have had in her chibi form, and she was pulling her hair rather intensely, but not quite enough to pull any out. Sadly, the scenery did not change to the previous description. You could also hear a lot of strange throaty noises coming from her. The adults looked at each other, then back at Akari, worry on both of their faces.

She gained her composure almost instantly, taking in deep breathes about four times before she was ready to speak again. " If you want me to be on your friggin' squad, than you better not talk to me for a good while, old man." She said while pointing at him accusingly. He just smiled as a response.

Akari didn't understand it. Her mother had been devastated from the loss of her son and husband. How could just get over it within a matter of days? And how did she know this guy that she suddenly was very openly flirting with?!? It was all too much for her to handle.

She lowered her trembling hand back down to her side. She stood there, showing as little emotion as she could for as long as she could, which wasn't very long. Eventually a tear slid down her cheek. Her mother took notice to this, and turned her head in a curious way.

"Akari, hun, why are you crying? I see no reason for such a thing at a time like this." There was no emotion in her voice, other than curiosity. No concern, no worry, just curiosity.

Akari continued to cry, letting her wall down just a little more. "What do you mean there's no reason to cry?! You just broke my already broken heart into millions of pieces, and you don't even care!!" She let her wall crumble before her feet. Her tears were rivers down her face now. "How could you say something so heartless? You know, I wonder if you're even my mother right now!!! Because my mother always put her feelings after her children's, never before! Never!!" She ran off then, leaving her mother and Baki confused.

She was crying furiously into her hands, still running away from the adults. She realized that it wasn't the smartest thing to do though, since her eyes were covered. That could lead to a lot of problems. So, she looked up, not caring if anyone saw the large amount of tears running down her face.

She ran right passed the two oldest siblings, who had past her and the adults some time ago. They watched her as just kept running, listening to her heavy sobs slowly get quieter. They looked at each other, than back at Akari as she slowly grew smaller in size, worry and concern written all over their faces.

She had to get away from everyone. She couldn't be near anyone, she just couldn't bear the pain of anything that reminded her of what she had just seen. And any of the people behind her brought that pain and suffering.

'_How could she do that to me? How could she do that to dad? How could she do that Haru?_' She repeated this to herself over and over as she was running. She just couldn't grasp it. It didn't make any sense to her.

She had been running for some time when she saw Gaara. Normally she would have gotten a bit nervous from seeing him there, but she just ended up crying harder from seeing another one of them. So, she pushed on, trying to get away from him, trying to leave the painful memory behind her.

But for some strange reason, she was still staring at him. With the others, she just ignored them, not caring what they were doing at that moment. But with him, she was just so curious, even at a time like this she couldn't help but notice him.

He appeared to still be irritated from the earlier confrontation, walking in a rather rushed way, but not going all that fast. His arms were folded, his shoulders closer to his ears than usual, and his walking was rather….bouncy. It was strange to see him like this because he usually was so detached from the rest of the group, always keeping to himself, so he never really showed any emotions, other than boredom.

But Akari didn't want to care about that. She just wanted to get away as soon as possible. She was still moving, so she had to keep moving. If she stopped moving, she was bound to be stuck that way for a long time. She just didn't have enough willpower to pick herself and keep going if she were to stop. So, she kept running, even though she was tired from it.

(Third person, but Gaara's POV)

Gaara had noticed her not too long ago, and that she was coming fast. But he was still really unhappy with her, so he didn't pay any attention to her. He wanted her to feel ignored. He wanted her to know what he felt like. He didn't know why he did, but he didn't care. He just wanted her to feel his pain. And that was that.

Soon enough, she was only a few feet away from him. He had no idea why she was here, but he didn't care. He just wanted her to go away. So, he did the typical thing that an angry guy would do ( I think??).

He turned around to yell at her.

"What do you wa-" He stopped mid-word when he saw that she was still running and not even looking at him. He could hear her making a weird noise, maybe it was wheezing? No, it was something. What was that noise?

Then, she was close enough for him to see her face clearly. She had a look of pure distress and pain. She was crying very hard, as well. Then she ran past him, and he figured out what that noise was. Sobs. She was sobbing, and he was about to yell at her. Guilt suddenly rushed over his face.

His eyes followed her body as she tried to run away from his gaze that she so obviously knew was following her. Sadly though, she didn't get very far before she ended up doing something very similar to what Kankuro did earlier. Except this was much worse. She didn't just trip over a rock and fall, she tripped over a really big rock, tried to regain her balance, but failed and ended up having her body thrown across the rough path for a long distance, getting scratches and bruises all over her body.

After about six seconds, she finally came to a stop. Gaara watched this whole ordeal in horror, frozen to his spot, not knowing what to do to help her. He cautiously moved forward, still a bit shocked from what just happened.

When she shifted slightly, he let out a breath he had been unconsciously holding. He slowly walked over to her now crippled body, a bit unsure of what he would do once he got there.

He heard her moan as she tried to move just a little bit. But she didn't seem to have the strength to do it. So, with a loud gasp, she ended up being in the same position as before, sprawled out with her limbs all over the place.

Gaara had stopped moving as soon as he heard the first little whimper. Then he heard it again, but it was a little bit louder this time. Her body started shaking a little bit, but not violently, just enough to motivate him to finish the distance between them.

Once he was by her side, he knelt down to look at her face. Her eyes were tightly shut, as if she didn't want to know what the circumstances were. Her face was red, and under her eyes, it was puffy. He also saw the same tears as before. Her whimpers were continuing, and he was getting really worried about her emotional state. The look on her face told him that her heart had just been broken, and she didn't know how she would fix it.

He cautiously reached out for her. But before he could gather enough courage to actually touch her, he pulled back, not sure of how he would do this.

Suddenly, he clenched his fists, softly hissing, and mimicked what Akari was doing with her eyes, shutting them tightly. '_What's wrong with me? I'm trying to help her, but I can't even find the courage to comfort her!!! I have issues….Okay Gaara. You've always been known as the monster, the freak, the one with all the issues. And for good reason too. But that was a long time ago. I'm not like that anymore. I've changed. I've learned how to control Shukaku. I'm the master, not him. It's time that I proved to the world that I have a heart. That I'm more than just someone's weapon. I care about people. I care about them enough that I will put my life on the line. And……I think I should start to care for someone new._'

He opened his eyes, looked at Akari straight on. He slowly reached for her………………

(Third Person, but Akari's POV)

Akari was so close to passing Gaara, just eight more strides and she wouldn't have to think about him as another obstacle any more. Just eight little strides. Seven. Six……Fi-

"What do you wa-" she heard him yell. '_Dang it! Why Gaara, why? I was so close!!_' She didn't want him to see her like this. So, she ran even faster.

Eventually, she finished her last five strides in order to pass him, but they didn't matter now. His eyes were following her. And they had seen her face, which meant that his eyes were full of worry.

So, as soon as her face was out of his view, she closed her eyes for a second, wishing she could just fast forward time to when she would be hiding in a bush later on when she would be away from everyone.

But, as fate may be, that wasn't the smartest thing for her to do at that exact moment. Because she closed her eyes right then, she missed seeing the big rock/stone/thing that was in front of her foot. So, she tripped. As soon as she realized what happened, her eyes opened in a panicked way, hoping to see where she was stepping so she could regain her balance.

But what she didn't know was that her senses had been dulled from her current depression. So, she didn't open her eyes until her face was merely inches away from the ground. Being the chuunin that she was, she was able to save her face from getting a rather good beating by turning her body so her back was facing the ground.

Sadly, that wasn't quite enough to stop her momentum. She did a good bit of tumbling before she finally stopped. Her body would have looked totally broken from a distance by the way she was laying. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

She tried to move, but she just didn't have the strength to get herself in a better position, a more comfortable one at least. So, she just gave up with a loud grunt, and all her muscles completely relaxed.

She faintly heard footsteps in the background, but couldn't remember whose they would be. She let out a whimper, feeling more tears stream down her face as he felt her body and mind give up. She let out another one, a little louder this time as she slowly got used to this intense stage of pain.

She lay there for perhaps a minute, just feeling like a hopeless wreck that wasn't worth caring for. Yet, strangely, she had a feeling that all wasn't lost.

And what do you know, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her in a very caring way. They lifted her body off the ground, but not into the air. It felt more like a lap, perhaps? Once she was settled in the mystery lap, she thought it would be smart to see who the owner of the arms and lap was.

She had trouble turning her head, but managed anyways. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling very anxious of who it would be. When she saw his face, her eyes grew slightly wider, and she gasped lightly.

She was being held by Gaara. And she was sitting in Gaara's lap. And Gaara was looking at her with anguish and pain written all over his face, and something else too. Was it….could it be…..love? (no, not the, ' I'm in love!!!!' type of love, the ' I care for you and your safety.' kind of love. Don't get ahead of yourself. ^^)

But wasn't Gaara the one who had told her not so long ago that he was doing just fine by himself? That he didn't need anybody else? That that's why he was always ignoring people and the things they did? It didn't make sense to her. He was such a mysterious person.

Suddenly, he pulled her closer to him, embracing her with as much comfort as he could muster into the hug. The fact being that he didn't give hugs away that often, it was very strange one. He put more pressure on one side of her body then on the other, and her arms were also sitting rather awkwardly up against his chest.

She was just sitting there on his lap, not knowing what to do with herself at this moment. Then she realized that he had just given her permission to use him as her crying shoulder (I know, it's cheesy. It's late. And I'm tired and I can't think of anything else. So, you know what? I recommend you get over it. XP). So, she snatched up the opportunity before he realized what he was doing, and how of his nature it seemed.

She moved her arms away from his chest, and wrapped them around his neck. She shoved her face into the crook of his neck, and started gently crying, finally taking in the situation. Excepting the hard truth that she would have to face for what she thought would be the rest of her life.

When she did this, Gaara tensed. Akari noticed this, but didn't want to let go, now that she had grabbed on. Slowly, he loosened up, and returned the embrace more than before.

The two of them stayed like this for about ten minutes, just wondering how the other one could have changed so much, in so little time.

~*~*~*~*~*~

(AN: Tadaa!!!!! I finally finished chapter two!! Yay!!! It's getting a little bit more relationship forming-ish, but not really yet. There will be a LOT more of the fluffy-ness to come, I hope. ^^ Cuz this is a romance/hurt/comfort, emphasis on the ROMANCE!!!!!! HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!!!!!! =DDDDD

I hope that the detail was better in this chapter than in the other two. If not, then PLEASE!!!!!! Please, please let me know. And if you have any suggestions of how I could make it better, feel completely free to share with me. I'll even give you credit for it. Such as right now. Tsebe Uchiha and aquamarine acaia, I really want to thank both of you for letting me know about detail, and how it's so important. If you hadn't this chapter would probably be about 1000 words less, and that would be lame. ^^ So, I just really wanted to thank you for encouragement and great advice that you gave to me. You guys rock!!! And Sakura, you rock too. ^^

Well, I also wanted to say that I'm probably not going to be able to update for maybe four or five days, possibly, because I'm not going to be on the computer that much this weekend. I'm doing some family stuff, and it's kinda important that I have a little bit of a life, don't you agree? If not, than I'm going to be very sad.

Well, anyways, I just wanted to thank you for reading my story, and I wish you a good rest of your day/night/twilight zone/whatever it is for you.

Thankyou!!!

P.S. – PLEASE!!! R&R…….heh. O_O

Yours truly,

~dkmmarie1125~


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